How a business uses ICT to communicate and operate

For one business describe the different methods of oral and written communication used and describe, with examples, how it uses ICT to communicate and operate.

Ikea

Oral

Ikea use the tannoy system in their store in order to communicate with their employees. They use the tannoy to call the employees to meetings and it is also used to gather the employees in the morning for their daily huddle. These huddles are very useful, and appropriate as they are arranged in order to give out information to the employees, as well as to discuss problems from the previous day and to set targets to overcome these problems from occurring again. At these short meetings employees can voice their concerns about any possible problems and set backs in sales and get a feedback from others on how they could cope with these problems and stop them from occurring.

Password

Confirm Password

I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy

A further example of oral communication in Ikea is the usage of mobile phones, which employees use to communicate with other employees and managers at the store. This is a very appropriate method of communication for the reason that it is helpful because it can be used in the case of an emergency or when you need to get hold of a fellow employee to discuss matters. Having a mobile phone is useful because you can get in touch with fellow employees without having to arrange a meeting.

Written

A written method of communication which Ikea use is ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Written

A written method of communication which Ikea use is their catalogue. This source of communication is for their customers, it tells the customers about Ikea’s product range and about the prices of the products available. This form of communication is very appropriate because Ikea are communicating with their customers and it is very useful for Ikea as well because they will gain more potential buyers.

A further form of written communication is memo’s, this is used to pass on a quick message to an employee to find out something. This is an appropriate form of communication because it can be done quickly without any hassle and this way

short messages can be passed on without arranging a formal meeting.

ICT

ICT is used in Ikea to communicate with their employees as well as their customers. One way in which this is done is by using plasma screens; these are up in the staff building as well as in the shop. They help employees because they can know whether there are any special visitors in store or if a school is coming to visit. They are also used in their store in order to help customers find out information on products and whether it’s still in stock or not. This is an appropriate form of communication because it helps Ikea to communicate with both their employees and customers as relevant information can be given easily and more efficiently.

Ikea also communicate with their customers and employees via the World Wide Web. Each employee has individual settings and can easily find out what’s going on via the companies intranet. Ikea can communicate with their customers through their very own web page. They can give information about their products and their existing product range as well as new ideas that they have come up with. This is a very efficient form off communication as Ikea can communicate and give out information very quickly because they have the internet available.

ICT is also very important in the way Ikea operate their business. An example of ICT used at Ikea would be to keep stock records in a database to see if there products are in stock, so that if a customer wanted to know about a certain product they can be informed whether it’s in stock or not very quickly.

Ikea also use ICT to operate their website, they use their website in order to communicate with their customers as well as to give their customers knowledge about their products and availability of the products. They also use their web page to promote new items, however, at the moment they do not have internet shopping available.

ICT is also required in order to operate the plasma screens around their store. They use these plasma screens in order to make sure that both staff and customers are aware of what is happening around them. The plasma screens help to identify problems and other things happening inside both staff and the shop buildings.

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

danielbeal

3rd of Apr 2012

Quality of writing

The student states the term 'tannoy system', however this is quite vague as to what this is. The technical term should be explained within the report, to allow the examiner to understand with ease.

Level of analysis

The report states the use of oral communication between employees. One aspect, is the use of meetings within the morning to discuss if there's any news or issues that need addressing. The student understands that this is an effective method. However the student doesn't state why this is necessary within the company. The report could include 'Ikea use oral communication to ensure that the same message comes across all employees within this meeting. This is an effect tool, as all employees are well informed of all the latest news regrading the store'. A large number of businesses are now starting to increase their use of IT systems, and this is an important factor within the near future. However the student doesn't state this. The report could state how IT is being used within businesses more often, due to the cost is far less than previous methods which allows the business to decrease costs. Thus, increases their profits via an effective IT system.

Response to question

In summary, the report is quite basic. The report states three different types of communication between employees and their customers. However the report lacks detail and the student doesn't fully understand how businesses are adapting to IT systems which is essential to understand. The student states that written communication is used for two purposes. The first is to allow their customers to browse though a catalogue of their products, which is fine. Although the second reason the student states is in-correct. The student states that written communication is used between employees, although this is now an out-dated method and this has been replaced by the use of IT systems. It's important that the student shows the examiner their understand this, and the student hasn't which is quite a concern. On the flip side, the student acknowledges that employees within the business use a number of systems (such as TV's and the Internet) to communicate between other members of staff.

Did you find this review helpful? Join our team of reviewers and help other students learn